Media Watch: Everton braced for British record John Stones bid

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There’s only one story in town today regarding Everton and it is of course reaction to John Stones putting in a transfer request.

The Daily Mail say that his long-term suitors Chelsea are now expected to come back with a fourth bid for the England defender in the region of £35million (a British record for a defender) after having offers of £20million, £26million and £30million rebuffed by Goodison Park chiefs who are adamant their most prized asset is not for sale.

The Mail report that Stones will not figure in an emotional return at hometown club Barnsley this evening for Everton’s Capital One Cup second round tie and although there is no suggestion that he will do anything as radical as going on strike, it also remains to be seen whether he will travel to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday as part of the Blues matchday squad.

The Mail also say that Stones’ request to go leaves Roberto Martinez with no choice but to make contingency plans and he will go for West Brom target Jonny Evans of Manchester United if the Yorkshireman departs while he is also made a £5million bid for Tottenham defender Federico Fazio.

Liverpool loan flop Victor Moses – who enjoyed a more fruitful spell at Stoke last season and who played for Martinez at Wigan Athletic – is also likely to be included in negotiations but it remains to be seen whether he’d be keen on moving to the Blues.

The Daily Express reckon that a Stones move to Chelsea could eventually be worth £40million for Everton.

They expect the deal to be completed in the next few days with the Premier League champions launching a fourth bid of £35million plus add-ons but the report also says that the Blues are expected to reject Stones’ request today.

The Express also claim that Chelsea are offering Stones a five-year deal worth £125,000-per-week – four times his current salary at Everton.

Everton FC v Manchester City FC at Goodison Park. John Stones applauds the fans at the final whistle.

The Daily Star declare that Everton have been left red-faced by the whole saga with senior officials remaining silent yesterday despite the news being made public.

Their report cites Blues director Jon Woods being captured on video after Sunday’s 2-0 defeat to Manchester City reassuring a fan that they would not sell as it is “too late” in the window.

However, they claim that Stones has indicated that he wants a fourth bid from Chelsea to be accepted as he is keen to fight for trophies and the prospect of being John Terry’s long-term replacement is said to appeal to him with the Londoners “set to turn up the heat and leave embarrassed Everton scrambling for replacements.”

With Everton still not publicly softening their stance over Stones, the Daily Telegraph speculate that Chelsea might turn to Zenit St Petersburg defender Ezequiel Garay their their pursuit for the 21-year-old fails.

The Russian club insist that the Argentinian international is not for sale at any price and there has been no contact from Stamford Bridge but he is represented by ‘super-agent’ Jorge Mendes whose other clients included Jose Mourinho, Diego Costa and Radamel Falcao.